Bending the Arc references a quote by Rev. Dr. King who said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” This twice-monthly digital newsletter from the CSA Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation office showcases the work of changemakers, opportunities to learn, and opportunities for you to help “bend the arc” toward justice. Full contents of the newsletter are published on this page.
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Tackling our Plastic Waste Crisis
April 25, 2024
Catholic Climate Covenant’s 2024 Earth Day program focuses on the growing problem of plastic pollution and complements the secular Earth Day theme of “Planet vs. Plastics”.
Do you know?
- The United States is the world’s largest plastic polluter; every year we produce 35 million tons of plastic waste.
- Every 15.5 hours, Americans throw away enough plastic to fill the largest NFL stadium in the country, AT&T Stadium in Dallas, and the pile grows larger every year.
- Plastic piles up in landfills, litters our communities, pollutes beaches, and breaks down into microplastics that get EVERYWHERE - including inside us?!
- Less than 9% (some say only 5-6%) of plastics actually get recycled in the U.S.
- The production of plastics is a huge source of greenhouse pollution and is expected to overtake emissions from coal-fired power plants by 2030.
In this short video from Environmental Health News, learn how our throwaway culture is connected to plastic pollution and why it has become such a huge problem.
We must deal with the plastic crisis if we are to control the climate crisis, to improve the health of our air and oceans, and to protect the Earth’s biodiversity and human health. You are encouraged to learn more and avoid adding to the plastic waste crisis whenever and wherever possible. Learn more by participating in Catholic Climate Covenant’s 2024 Earth Day program - Healing Our Throwaway Culture: A Focus on Plastics. The one-hour program will help your community learn about how plastic production, consumption, and disposal are impacting human and planetary health, and give you strategies for personal, community, and systemic actions. The Earth Day program can be used any day that fits your community’s schedule. Learn more.
In 2022, 175 nations agree to develop a legally binding agreement on plastic pollution by 2024, prompting a major step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions from plastic production, use and disposal. Read more. The fourth session of negotiations started earlier this week in Ottawa, Canada. Follow this and insist that our U.S. government supports a strong UN Plastic Treaty with mandatory, ambitious, scientifically based, and enforceable control measures and obligations to ensure results and accountability.
SIGN AND SHARE THIS PLASTIC POLLUTION PETITION
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Cosmology & Creation